HOCKEY; Bossy sounds off on dirty play

ByRoss AtkinMay 29, 1980

As one of the National Hockey League's leading scorers, Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders knows firsthand the frustrations of being grabbed, tripped, and generally shackled illegally. It's this sort of "chippy" play, he writes in the June issue of Sport magazine, that leads to the violence that gives hockey a bad name.

He goes on to suggest three ways the NHL could clean things up.

The first would be to utilize the two linesmen to call penalties. The referee currently takes full responsibility in this area, hardly a reasonable assignment considering the speed of the game, size of the rinks, and number of players (12).

Bossy further suggests calling more penalties. This, he admits, would initially slow down play, "but in a shorter period of time than people think, the game would have fewer stoppages and be faster. . . ."